Spring cushion construction



Oct. 16, 1934. H. F. HAGER ET AL SPRING CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV.2, 1933 c/mmis E M n & a: a

ATTORNEYS,

i at e'n tecl Oct. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES SPRING CUSHION CONSTRUCTION'Henry lXHager, Trenton, and Charles F. McCoy, Penmngton, N. J.,assignors to Trenton Spring Products Company, Trenton, N. J., acorporation Application November 2, 1933, Serial No. 696,362

2 Claims.

t This invention relates toa spring construcion. I This invention is animprovement upon the in- 4 vention shown in the prior PatentNo.1,913,353. 6 In-"said patent there is broadly disclosed the idea ofoperatively associating a plurality of coil springs together solelythrough a small bore helix, the operative association occurring betweenthe serpentine portions of adjacent coils in adjacent 10 rows having anested relation and encircled by the small bore helix means. As shown insaid patent, certain of the coils are of the knotted type- -see Fig. 3thereof. Certain other of the coils are of the unknotted type.

The present invention consists of the improvement upon theaforesaiddisclosure in that certainturns of an unknotted coil spring areso associated together by a small bore helix, similar to that in thepatent in question,"whereby the effect of a knotted coil spring isobtained and in a sense, each spring is tied and is thereby theequivalent ofa knotted coil spring. 1 V

"*The chief feature of the invention consistsin associatinga small borehelix with a, serpentine like free end of a coilspring, the immediatelyadjacent, portion of the'immediately adjacent turn of said spring alsobeing of serpentine formation, each of said serpentine portionsconsisting, of the series of undulations, the adjacent serpentineportions of the same spring being nested together and operativelytied'together by said small bore helix, which is operatively associatedwith a plurality of springs arranged in a row and in spaced relation inthe row.

In certain types of constructions, particularly i hospital beds, and thelike, the spring structure must be capable of flexing when the bed isused forfracture cases. With knotted springs it'has been found the knotsthereof unduly wear the 49 mattress. With'unknotted springs, it has beenfoundthe unknotted or free ends have a similar effect only in a moreprogressive manner.

,The present invention contemplates the tying of the springs in such amanner that the mechanical effect or advantage of the knotted spring isobtained, the freedom of the unknotted spring is retained, and theobjections to the knotted and unknotted spring structures areeliminated, while theadvantages of each are retained.

1 50 The present invention also incorporates the desired flexibilitynecessary for the use of the spring structure, incorporating theinvention for fracture bed purposes and yet the resulting structurehas'more rigidity or permanence of construction than that heretoforepresent'in theindustry.

As a further feature of the invention, whenever a plurality ofindependent units are to' be associated together, suchas disclosed inthe Jones Patent No. 1,915,674,each unit comprising a-plu rality of coilsprings arranged in a single row and in spaced relation, this inventionreadily lendsitself to the same, because each spring" is the equivalentof a knotted spring-and yet no: the unknotted type, and in each unitthere must be employed at least two helix means coextensive with thelength of the unit and preferably'diametrically positioned, althoughadditional helix means may also be employed therewith, if and whendesired. 1

The full nature ofthe invention will be under N stood from theaccompanying drawing and the following description and claims:-

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is atop plan view 'of' a single unit structure,including a plurality of coil springs arranged in row formation and embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top'plan view of a corner of a composite spring structure,wherein the springs are arranged in longitudinal and transverse rows,and the longitudinal rows are associated to- 'g'ether, the springs ineach longitudinal row' be ing in transverse alignment with the adjacentsprings in the other adjacent longitudinal" rows.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but the springs in alternatelongitudinal rows are arranged in transverse alignment and the springsin thesuccessive transverse rows and alternate longitudinal rows arespaced apart both longitudinally and transversely by the springs in theintermediate longitudinal rows. r

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the'unit shown in Fig. 1, embodying fourhelix means.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a modified form of theinvention shown inFigs. land 4, and whereinbut twodiametricallypositioned helix means areemployed, and represents the minimum requirements for a spring unitconstruction em bodying theinvention.

In Figs. 1 andi of the'drawing, 10 indicates a coil spring having theend turn 11 and the next immediate turn 12. The end turn 11 of the coilspring has a free end 13 which is providedwith a serpentine formationliconsisting of a series of undulations. The-next immediate turn 12; hasitsportion adjacent the serpentine portion 14 similarly provided with aserpentine formation '15, the two serpentine portions nesting together'The portionbf the end turn 11 substantially 11c relation,

opposite the serpentine portion 14, is similarly provided with aserpentine formation 17 and a small bore helix 18 is operativelyassociated therewith.

As shown in Fig. 4, there are two helixes 16 provided and also twohelixes 18 are provided, and these are diametrically arranged withrespect to the coil spring. Also, as shown in Fig. 4, the free ends 13of the coil spring are diametrically positioned with respect to eachother.

As shown in Fig. 1, each unit includes a plurality of coil springsarranged in spaced relation and preferably all of the free ends are inlongitudinal alignment. When the free ends are in longitudinal alignmentat the top and bottom of the unit and are diametrically opposite eachother, then but two helixes 16 are necessary to simultaneously securethe several spring portions together to form the equivalent of a knottedspring and to secure said several springs together in single rowformation and in spaced relation with each other in the row forunitspring construction. The same reference numerals have been intentionallyapplied to Figs. 4 and 5. If de sired, the form of the spring utilizedin Fig. 5 construction need not include the serpentine portion 17 in theend coil. In Fig. 5 but two helixes 16 are required.

Whenever a multiple row spring construction is desired, as for bedsprings and the likesee Fig. 2-the springs 110 are arranged inhorizontal and transverse row formation. Each spring also has its endturn provided with a serpentine free end 114 and the adjacent portion ofthe immediate adjacent turn of said spring is provided with the nestingserpentine portion 115. The adjacent portion of the adjacent coil in theadjacent longitudinal row is provided with the serpentine portion 117which also nests with the two other nesting portions of the adjacentcoil in the first mentioned longitudinal row, making three nestedserpentine portions which are encircled by the single helix 116. p

A border wire consisting of the small bore helix 118 is operativelyassociated with the serpentine portions 117 of the end turn of the endcoils of the longitudinal end rows of coils. A transverse border wire120 consists of the small bore helix, as shown.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, the coils are arranged inlongitudinal and transverse rows and the adjacent coils of eachtransverse row are in included adjacent longitudinal rows.

In Fig. 3, a modified form of the invention is illustrated, wherein thecoils are arranged in longitudinal rows and are also arranged intransverse rows, the coils in each successive transverse row consistingofcoils in alternate longitudinal rows, whereby an offset or staggeredcoil arrangement is obtained. The coils in respective longitudinal rowsin this form of the invention are substantially arranged as in Fig. 1,the intermediate or spacing portion of the helix 216, and hereinindicated as 221, being operatively associated and in effect, being theequivalent of the helix 18 of a single longitudinal row. Theintermediate longitudinally ar-- ranged helixes 216, therefore, in thisform of the invention, connect. the coils of adjacent longitudinal rowsin offset or staggered while the intermediate longitudinal helixes 116of Fig. 2 connect the coils of longitudinal rows in transverse rowarrangement, and each helix 116 in the form of the invention shown inFig. 2, operatively connects serpentine portions of coils in adjacentlongitudinal rows in nested relation.

In Fig. 3, the numeral 218 indicates the small bore helix that serves asa border wire. Also the numeral 220 indicates a small bore helix thatserves as a transverse border wire. If desired, an intermediate portionbetween the two serpentine portions 114 and 117 of the coil 110, shown,in Fig. 2, and operatively associated with the border helix 120, mayalso be arranged in serpentine formation. Likewise, the coil 210 in Fig.3, having the free end 213 provided with a serpentineportion 214, andthe diametrically opposite serpentine portion 217 may have itsintermediate portion similarly formed in serpentine formation forcooperation with the border forming helix 220.

In Fig. 3 each second turn of the coil 210 has its portion immediatelyadjacent the serpentine portion 214 of a serpentine formation 215 whichnests with the serpentine portion 214 of the free end and the two aresecured together in nested relation by the helix 216. p

With respect to the modification last mentioned wherein the intermediatetransverse portion between the serpentine portions 114 and 117, and 214and 217, it is noted that a special border spring must be provided thatdiffers from the majority of the springs embodied in the springstructure as a whole. However, such additional transverse intermediatemodification to the serpentineformation is not necessary and preferablyis omitted for production purposes, since all the springs, with theexception of the form illustrated in Fig. 5, are identical and may beused for single unit construction, or for multiple and transverse rowarrangement, as shown in either Figs. 2 or 3, and may be employed forend coils as well as intermediate coils.

While the invention has been described in great detail in the foregoingspecification and many modifications have been illustrated anddescribed, the same is to be considered as illustrative and notrestrictive in character, and such modifications, as well as otherswhich will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art,are all to be considered within the scope of this invention, referencebeing had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is: i

1. In a spring construction, the combination of a plurality of normally.unknotted coiled springs arranged in a row and in spaced relation, eachopposite end turn thereof having its end provided with a serpentineportion consisting of a series of undulations, and the turn immediatelyadjacentthereto having an adjacent similar serpentine portion, saidadjacent serpentine portions in each coil having a nesting relationship,and a plurality of small bore helix means encircling the nestedserpentine portions simultaneously securing the same together and theseveral springs in spaced relation and in row formation, whereby certainof said helix means have a plurality of successive turns operativelyassociated with the successive nested un-, dulations of the same spring.

2. In a spring construction, the combination of a plurality of normallyunknotted coiled springs arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, thesprings in each row being arranged in spaced relation, each opposite endturn of each spring having its end providedwith a serpentine por-, tionconsisting of a series of undulations, and the turn immediately adjacentthereto in each coil having a similar adjacent serpentine portion nestedtherewith, each end turn substantially opposite the end serpentineportion having a similar serpentine portion therein, and a plurality ofsmall bore helix means arranged in parallel relation and operativelyassociated with the ser-

